Twenty state workers from nine different departments and agencies were involved in improper on-the-job activities that cost taxpayers $201,000, and only some of that money is now being recovered, the state auditor said in a report today.
More than $108,000 of that total was improperly paid to two doctors at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, State Auditor Elaine M. Howle said.
The money was paid for overtime medical work at San Quentin State Prison, but the unidentified doctors were not entitled to any overtime under their state contract, according to state auditors.
The doctors, who received the payments between November 2005 and August 2006, are now paying that cash back on a monthly basis, the report said. Auditors blamed the payments on a clerical error at San Quentin prison.
The case was among those detailed in Howle's semi-annual report, which examines whistle-blower allegations of improper activities by state employees.
A second case involved nine office technicians at the state Dept. of Corrections who were improperly granted $16,530 in increased pay for supervising inmates at the R. J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego between Jan. 1, 2005 and Feb. 29, 2008.
The report found the technicians were not entitled to the extra pay under terms of the inmate work program.
Auditors also indicated that the problem may be far more widespread because prison employees were certifying that inmates had shown up for work when other documents indicated they had not. Corrections officials said they are reviewing the findings.
Other cases of improper workplace activity highlighted in the report:
– A fulltime staffer at the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) was simultaneously working for an unidentified nonprofit group that was receiving HCD grants, in violation of state regulations.
Auditors estimated the employee's unauthorized absences from her state job - along with other "attendance abuses" - cost taxpayers $34,687.
Auditors said the state worker misled officials who questioned her improper activities and was improperly supervised by her bosses.
The department cut her pay 10 percent in May, but the woman has since resigned.
– A California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) worker failed to properly record 768 hours of paid time off between August 2006 and June 2008. The result: Cal EPA inappropriately paid her $23,320 for the hours. Her bosses were blamed for inadequate supervision.
– A regional water board staffer used a state telephone to make 54 hours of personal long-distance telephone calls, costing the state $137. The money has since been paid back.
– A Contractors State License Board worker used a state vehicle for personal purposes and falsified board records to "hide her activities." Although the employee denied misconduct, the state report found she also worked at a restaurant while she was supposed to be doing field inspections.
The state lost an estimated $1,896 on misuse of the state vehicle.
The board has requested repayment and placed a warning memo - called a "counseling memorandum" - in the employee's personnel file, the report said.
Call The Bee's Andrew McIntosh, (916) 321-1215.
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